As Formula One desperately tries to put its house in order in Singapore, a purer and arguably more dramatic form of motor sport gets into its stride today on the opposite side of the world – with an ex-Formula One man among the leading contenders.

Juan Pablo Montoya has qualified second for the Nascar race on the Monster Mile oval at Dover in Delaware. Montoya's presence on the front row ahead of homegrown talent in 42 other saloon cars from Dodge, Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet is a rare event in a world where outsiders, particularly people from F1, find it difficult to cope with both this highly specialised form of racing and the fact that politics are dealt with behind closed doors.

Nascar is no more immune to rule‑bending than any other form of sport but the France family, who founded the series in 1948, use a home-made rod of iron to rule the second most popular spectator sport in the United States. There have been outrageous attempts at cheating – a competitor once went so far as make the shell of his car 10% smaller than the actual size – but offenders are dealt with swiftly. Nascar's word is final.

Compare this to reports that FIA officials were apparently aware of Renault's Singapore skulduggery a few months after the event. It is one of the many thoughts that appals Sir Jackie Stewart as the three-times world champion watches his sport continually implode.

"I understand the FIA had knowledge of this last November," Stewart said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's also been reported that it was brought to their attention again in April of this year. If that's the case, why was it not dealt with at that time? Why was it put off to this time, so close to an election and the end of the season? I don't think it was just the fact that the timing was right. There's something a little bit wrong with all of that.

"I don't see any reason why they had to wait. They have access to the telemetry, it could have been investigated. The referee in a football match doesn't wait for the spectators to tell him there should be a penalty. He makes that decision straight away and that decision is clear."

Stewart was referring to next month's election of a successor to Max Mosley, the president of the FIA. Further controversy in a supposedly democratic process has been caused by Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone giving public support to Jean Todt, their favoured candidate over Ari Vatanen, a more popular choice in the F1 paddock if not many parts of the motoring world. The fear is that Todt, if elected, will continue the policies of two men arguably past their prime, particularly Ecclestone who has been described as "totally out of touch" by Sir Martin Sorrell, a board member of CVC, the owner of F1's commercial rights. Sorrell was referring to Ecclestone's view that Flavio Briatore's life-time ban over the Singapore scandal was very harsh.

Such public washing of F1's filthy linen is anathema to Nascar officials as they watch the supposed pinnacle of motor sport continually attempt to self-destruct. The fundamental values, however, ought to be exactly the same as the F1 and Nascar championships head towards a climax, F1 moving to Japan next weekend, followed by Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Nascar has entered the final 10 races, the so-called "Chase". After 26 races, the top 12-ranked drivers advance to the Chase to contend for the championship. The 12 drivers' points are reset to a base of 5,000 points per driver. During the Chase, normal scoring applies, with drivers who win a race receiving 190 points for the win, five bonus points for leading a single lap, and 10 points for leading the most laps. It sounds complicated, but the system works and keeps interest on the boil until the final round. There will be eight more races after today.

Montoya, although in only his third season, is one of the top 12. Having reached the Chase through consistency, the Colombian is set to use the thrusting talent exhibited when he won seven grands prix for Williams and McLaren. Montoya was on pole for the first round of the Chase in New Hampshire but was denied his first Nascar win on an oval track by the series leader, Mark Martin. Aged 50 and in his 27th season of Nascar, Martin used his guile to legitimately block Montoya on the last lap, a tactic that would cause outrage in F1.

"Nah, it was OK," said a grinning Montoya. "I'd made a pit stop and passed a ton of cars. I got to Mark and thought I had him. When we got to turns one and two, he just sort of stopped on the bottom [instead of running high through the banked turns]. I didn't expect that. He just ran pretty defensively. I haven't fought for enough wins, so I'm still learning.

"Was I screwed? Yes, I was. But I would have done the same thing. You just gotta learn from it. He's the guy I respect most. He hasn't won a championship and he wants one pretty bad. So do I. But I've got to win a race first. It'll come."

F1 can only hope that its own race today, run under floodlights, is without shadowy figures influencing what ought to be an intriguing championship in its own right.